🏨 The Medical Arts Building: Joplin’s Grand Skyscraper That Never Was

by: Brady Cloud
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On March 17, 1929, Joplin businessman R. W. Cole unveiled plans for what was intended to become one of the city’s most ambitious construction projects. Rising on the northeast corner of Fifth and Joplin Streets, the proposed Medical Arts Building promised to reshape the city’s skyline. Designed by Kansas City architect Albert Wiser—who was completing the Mayflower Apartments at the time—the building was envisioned as a 12-story, L-shaped tower built of marble, brick, terra cotta, and steel. Stretching 125 feet along Fifth Street and 100 feet along Joplin Street, it would have featured approximately 117 offices and 26,000 square feet dedicated to medical and professional services.

Cole’s vision extended far beyond office space. In a bold challenge to the nearby Connor Hotel, the Medical Arts Building would also include a 150-room hotel occupying its Fifth Street wing, complete with a mezzanine, a spacious two-story open-air lobby, and a large wood-burning fireplace. One of the building’s most distinctive planned features was a twelfth-floor professional club room reserved for tenants, offering dining services, a soda fountain, and a dedicated medical library. At 170 feet tall, the tower would have surpassed even the Frisco Building, making it the tallest structure in Missouri outside Kansas City and St. Louis—and, had it been built, it would still be the tallest building in Joplin today.

Such grandeur came with a price. Cole estimated the project at $975,000, expecting to secure financing through stock subscriptions and outside investment. Construction was optimistically projected to begin within sixty days of the announcement, with the building ready for tenants by January 1, 1930. Plans advanced far enough that twelve contractors prepared to submit bids by August 31, 1929.

But as the economic climate darkened in late 1929, financing collapsed. The project was abruptly shelved.

A brief revival came in November 1930 under businessman L. P. Buchanan, who proposed a scaled-down version of the building with a reduced budget of $750,000. Even so, the effort stalled almost immediately when the original site became unavailable, forcing planners to search for a new location. With mounting obstacles and a worsening economy, the dream of the Medical Arts Building was abandoned for good.

Had it been built, the Medical Arts Building would have stood among the largest and most impressive structures in Southwest Missouri—perhaps even surviving as a landmark today. Instead, it remains a reminder of how even the most ambitious plans can falter when the odds, and the era, are stacked against them.

Brady Cloud